China Environmental Law

We at CELB have been remiss in not mentioning an important player in the US-China clean energy space.  The US-China Clean Energy Forum has been up and running for some time and has sponsored exchanges of government and business leaders in both China and the US.  Originally conceived in the Pacific Northwest it still retains a slight preponderance of Puget Sound-based sponsors and champions, but it is rapidly expanding its base nationally and internationally.  Indeed, I am happy to report that AmCham Shanghai has agreed to join the effort as a sponsor.

So what’s its mission?  Here’s what it says on its website:

The U.S. and China account for nearly half of global energy demand, and create a similar percentage of greenhouse gas emissions. The technologies exist to improve efficiency, reduce pollution and diversify supplies. But we aren’t moving ahead quickly enough to get ahead of the problem.

Recognizing the importance of this issue, a bi-partisan group of leaders in the U.S. and China has created a high-level dialogue to increase cooperation on clean energy and alternative fuels. Through this process, we will address how to translate common interests and good intentions into dramatic action.

In other words, it is an organization that (along with a handful of others) is uniquely primed to support the bilateral engagement on energy and climate change called for in the reports issued by the Asia Society/Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings in February (discussed here and in subsequent posts).   

The US-China Clean Energy Forum seems to understand the urgency of these issues and is working heroically in an attempt to get matters formalized with their Chinese counterparts before the end of the year to initiate “dramatic action.”  Smart move.  We’ve added a link to their site under “Environment & Energy” in the right sidebar.